The Red Fox government imposed Harvest Quotas in Romania are more than 90%

Red Fox hunting bags are this year lower with 6.000 individuals than in 2019

by Ovidiu C. Banea, MSc, PhD

Ecology Department of Crispus NGO Sibiu Romania

In Romania, the newly settled golden jackals are showing an increase in their numbers of up to 23.000 individuals. The indirect competition with the native Red Fox is visible in places where the aggressive hunting towards red foxes is very high and implicitly their numbers too, so jackals have difficulties establishing their survival clusters. 

Red Fox photographed in Bucovina, North Romania

7th of July 2022, Photo: Constantin Rotar

Observations of fox dens with 8 and 9 cubs were done in central Romania, in Cluj County, the county of Romania with the highest numbers of Red foxes and the highest hunting bag data from the entire national territory.

Mai 2022, Cluj county. Photo: Bubu Bogdan

Even so, in the last four years, due to pandemic restrictions or other reasons until now unknown the hunting bag data of Red Fox species decreased from  41.845 specimens in 2019 to 35.978 individuals, in 2021.

Evolution of Stock Assessment (in blue - Red Fox, in grey - Golden Jackal) and 

Hunting Bag Data (in orange - Red Fox, in yellow - Golden Jackal) in Romania

Red Fox interannual population size dynamic in Romania: 

Stock Assessment (blue) and hunting bag data (orange)

The Red Fox and Golden Jackal species are still showing a difference in their density depending on the habitat characteristics, pasturelands and farmlands, and the other large carnivore occurrence.

I present here data from four counties, two from southern parts of Romania, Giurgiu and Ialomita, and the other two located in Transylvania, inside the Carpathians Mountains Arch, Cluj, and Satu Mare.

Giurgiu: imposed quotas of 2021 96%, realized by hunters 57,4%

Ialomita: imposed quotas of 2021 99%, realized by hunters 64,5%

Cluj: imposed quotas of 2021 81,79%, realized by hunters 39,6%

Satu Mare: imposed quotas of 2021 82,35%, realized by hunters 61,4%

Despite the higher quotas imposed by the Romanian Government, the hunters realize differently the harvest of the Red Fox. In the analyzed two counties from Transilvania, the Red Fox Hunting Bag data decreased.